


Fighting Words

by Yadirocks



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-13
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-06-01 21:20:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6536689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yadirocks/pseuds/Yadirocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even the best fall down sometimes</p>
            </blockquote>





	Fighting Words

Today felt extremely different to him. It was as if every single moment was a constant reminder that he wasn't what he used to be. He was average, the way everyone said he would be. He had refused to believe it, had been in denial for so long and was now forced to face what his mind said was the truth. Yadier stared at him now, but Adam stared right through him to the backstop. Adam could feel his heart caving in, and knew this would be his last inning as Stubbs stepped on home plate. He had blown a 4-1 lead. 

Yadier didn't say anything to him. He was slightly relieved. He didn't want to hear Yadier's voice in his ear. He probably wouldn't have listened anyway. Adam didn't want to be comforted or told that the home run wasn't his fault, that it was Yadier's. That was false. Adam had the ball, not Yadier. 

Once he finally got out of the inning, he forced himself to walk to the dugout. One look at Mike Matheny confirmed his earlier thoughts, and Adam sat down on the bench with a heavy sigh. Someone sat beside him, but he didn't even look. He knew it was Yadier. Maybe if he didn't speak, Yadier wouldn't either.

He was right. Instead of trying to cheer Adam up, Yadier simply squeezed Adam's shoulder. Other than Yadier cheering for Diaz when he hit a double, the catcher was quiet. Maybe this wasn't a good thing, because now the silence was creeping up on him, his thoughts are swirled together in his head and making it difficult to see what was clearly in front of him. 

"It's bad," he finally whispered. Yadier didn't answer once more, but simply nodded. His arm had come up to wrap around Adam's shoulders, which was difficult for him since Yadier was much shorter than Wainwright. His legs didn't even touch the ground because Adam was so much taller.

Adam stared down at his lap, where he still clung to his glove, wishing he had another shot to prove himself, just one more inning. Then again, he thought sadly, he might just make things worse. It seemed like nowadays, that's all he did. 

A lone tear trailed down his cheek. He didn't care who saw it. Adam was miserable anyway, and everyone knew, so there was really no hiding it at this point. Yadier sighed, brushing away his tear. "Head up," he said, looking Adam in the eye. "One game does not define who you are, Adam."

When the game ended, the Cardinals winning 12-7 thanks to a few runs and a home run by Carpenter, Adam trudged to the locker room, feeling sorry for himself. Michael punched him on the shoulder lightly and laughed. "Great job today, Waino. I have to say, your daughters sure will be proud of you for giving up all those runs."

Adam turned a glare on Michael, a lot darker than he meant to, and punched Michael in the gut. The younger pitcher fell to the floor, whimpering and grasping his stomach. Adam looked up to see everyone staring at Michael, and then staring at Adam. He didn't care. Michael shouldn't have said anything if he didn't want to get socked.

Michael got up, glaring at Adam, and tackled him. Soon, they were punching and kicking each other. Someone pried him off of Wacha, and Adam clawed at them, red dots in his vision. Someone slapped him in the face, and Adam managed to get a fist free and punch them in the face. Everyone gasped. 

Yadier shoved him into a room, causing Adam to fall on the floor. The red dots cleared, and Yadier slammed the door behind him. "You are going to stay here until you calm down. Got it?" Yadier asked. Adam noticed that there was a bruise forming on his temple. Had he hit Yadier?

Suddenly, Adam became aware of what he had done. He whispered, "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry, Yadi."

Yadier took a deep breath, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply to calm himself. "It's fine," he said, turning back towards the door. "I'm not the one you need to apologize to. You need to apologize to Michael and the entire team for your outburst."

The pitcher nodded, swallowing hard. Yadier opened the door, about to walk out, when Adam whispered, "I didn't know it was you."

With a sigh, the catcher closed the door behind him, leaving Adam alone in the darkness. The room was an old janitor's closet. A broom was leaned against the wall near the door, and a shelf of cleaning supplies stood in the very back. A large garbage bin with wheels on the bottom had been rolled out of the way and into a dark corner. The entire room was cold, and Adam shivered, pulling his knees to his chest and running shaking hands through his hair. 

He stayed put, afraid to step out into the locker room and face his teammates. Yadier wasn't going to come back. Adam had really screwed up this time. He wished that the catcher would open the door, smile at him, and tell him that it was okay, that he didn't hate his guts right now. Adam felt a lump rise in the back of his throat. It was going to take a lot to make his teammates forgive him for what he had done. Fighting wasn't acceptable in the clubhouse, and Adam knew it. 

When the light that filtered underneath the door went out, Adam sighed, leaning his head back. They were all gone. He hoped. He stayed where he was, not wanting to get up even now. He just wanted to lay there in the cold like he deserved. 

Yadier opened the door the next morning to find Adam asleep on the cold, damp floor. Yadier sighed when he saw the red traces of tears still on Adam's face. He picked up the shivering pitcher and carried him to Mike's office, which he was relieved that the manager had kept unlocked the night before.

He laid Adam down on the cot in the back of the office, grabbing a thick blanket out of one of the cabinets. The blanket was a Cardinals blanket, a beautiful picture of the old Busch Stadium printed on it with the words "NO PLACE LIKE HOME" printed on it in big, red lettering. Yadier smirked at the blanket before placing it over his ace. He took off Adam's shoes for him and hesitantly patted his back once, afraid to wake him. 

When Adam woke up, he was warm, which was unexpected. The last thing he remembered, he had been in the cold, wet janitor's closet on the inside of the locker room. The lights were out in the room he was in, making it difficult to see where exactly he was. He was on a cot, which was odd too, and a blanket covered him. Had Mike brought him in here?

Adam sat up, realizing he was still in his uniform. He sighed, glad he still had his casual clothes in his locker. He was afraid to go into the locker room and see his teammates. Maybe if he was quiet and fast, they wouldn't even notice he had been there. He knew he couldn't avoid them all day, but he wanted more time to think.

When he got to the locker room, the lights were on, but he didn't see anyone. The door to the janitor's closet was open, signaling that he had, indeed, been brought to Mike's office. If Mike had brought him, then why wasn't he in his office, too?

Adam was thoroughly confused by the time he had gathered his spare change of clothes. Then, he looked across at Yadier's locker, and realized that his uniform was the only one hanging on the locker, the rest gone home with the guys to be washed and dried. The mystery had been solved, and Adam felt renewed hope. Maybe Yadier didn't completely hate him. 

The rest of the morning, Adam tried to find the catcher, but he first got stopped by Mike Matheny, who told Adam exactly what Yadier had said, that he would need to apologize to Michael and the rest of the team for the fight. Adam sadly agreed, his stomach churning with the thought, but he had gotten time to think it over and decided what he was going to say. 

He finally found Yadier in the bullpen, Derek Lilliquist setting the pitching machine to fire offspeed pitch after offspeed pitch at Yadier. The catcher was breathing hard, sweat dripping from his forehead, getting closer and closer to the pitching machine to shave off time. By the time that Yadier was done, his limbs were shaking and he was drenched in sweat. "Yadi, maybe you shouldn't do another round. You still have to catch today," Derek said, looking the catcher up and down. Yadier took a gigantic gulp of Gatorade and shook his head. "Again."

Then he spotted Adam watching him, and said, "Maybe in five minutes."

Derek nodded, going over to get his phone while Yadier grabbed his towel, wiping the sweat from his face. Adam swallowed down the lump in his throat and said, "Can we talk? Alone?"

Yadier put his hands on his hips. The bruise on his temple was gone, probably covered up by makeup so that the media wouldn't catch it. He was surprised by the fact that it hadn't been melted off by his sweat. The catcher studied him closely, his sharp eyes assessing. Adam felt like Yadier was looking into his soul, and that made him feel uneasy.

"You have three minutes," he said. Adam nodded, looking around to make sure no one was nearby before taking Yadier's arm and leading him into the bathroom just outside of the bullpen. 

"I'm really sorry, Yadi," he said, looking him in the eye. The catcher sighed, turning away and turning on the faucet, cupping his hands with water and splashing his face. "Like I said, I'm not the one you need to apologize to," he said, not meeting Adam's eyes. Adam reluctantly put a hand on Yadier's shoulder. "I hurt you too," he said sadly. "Please, Yadi...forgive me. I know you're mad at me. I'm really sorry, and I promise, I'll make it up to you, to the entire team. I hate not being able to talk to you like normal."

He felt tears fill his eyes. He had told himself he wasn't going to cry, but he realized just how much he needed Yadier. The catcher sighed, turning and looking Adam in the eye. "I forgive you," Yadier said, giving Adam a small smile. "Don't do it again, though."

They hugged, and Adam felt a huge weight fall off his shoulders.


End file.
